After listening to the head of the arbitration commission of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), Wilson Seneme, the Betting CPI on the Senate wants to summon former FIFA referee Manoel Serapião Filho, known as the “father of VAR”, and Salmo Valentim, president of the National Association of Football Referees (Anaf).
The proposal was presented by the leader of the PL, Carlos Portinho, and requests the joint hearing of the guests as witnesses.
According to Carlos Portinho, former referee Manoel Serapião Filho has “privileged knowledge” about the guidelines and criteria imposed by the CBF.
These guidelines, in fact, directly influence the exercise of arbitration and the integrity of sporting competitions.
The intention is for Serapião Filho to offer valuable insights into the implementation and operation of VAR in Brazil. In this way, highlighting how CBF rules impact arbitration.
In addition to Manoel Serapião Filho, the CPI also wants to hear Salmo Valentim. The president of Anaf needs to attend to better explain the CBF’s practices and policies on arbitration.
According to the document presented by Portinho, both Serapião Filho and Valentim can “provide important insights into the practices and policies adopted by the CBF in relation to those judged”.
The CPI also invited Rodrigo Alves, president of the Brazilian Sports Betting Association (Abraesp).
Portinho highlighted the importance of Alves providing information about the role of sports betting companies in combating and preventing match-fixing.
Wilson Seneme even set up a ‘VAR studio’ in a session of the CPI das Apostas
Recently, Wilson Seneme set up a VAR studio with seven monitors at a CPI session. The main objective of setting up this space was to clarify how VAR works in practice, going beyond the information that is made public during football matches.
During his testimony, Seneme also addressed the accusations made by John Textor, majority shareholder of Botafogo. Textor pointed out alleged manipulations in Brazilian Championship games, which Seneme categorically refuted.
“I give him a 0% chance. With the experience I have, I have not seen or identified any action that could give the slightest reference and transform it into some type of result manipulation.
Arbitration errors occur. But turning an arbitration error into a complaint for result manipulation, in my view, is an irresponsible action.”
